CIP4 and Ryerson Announce JDF 101 Education Event

Toronto, ON (November 14, 2008) - The International Cooperation for the Integration of Processes in Prepress, Press and Postpress (CIP4) organization and Ryerson University announced a free "JDF Education Event" to be held at Ryerson University in Toronto on Thursday, 19 February 2009.

This one-day program will covers all aspects of print process automation, CIP4 and the Job Definition Format (JDF), and is hosted by Ryerson University's School of Graphic Communications Management. This JDF 101 Education Event was "sold out" in 2007, and 2008 and is back by popular demand. "This year a room full of printers and print buyers will learn a lot about JDF and see a live demonstration staged by Ryerson with their equipment," says CIP4 executive director James Harvey, "but for me the best part will be the real-world questions and the relevant discussions. Printers who strive to maximize production efficiency, but have questions and find it difficult to get answers should not miss the 2009 event." Speakers will identify the benefits of JDF-enabled process automation experienced by small and medium sized commercial offset and digital printers, and will provide an introduction to how JDF works and its function in the modern printing plant. Speakers include:

* Dr Mark Bohan, Vice President of Research and Technology at PIA/GATF
* Patrick Bolan and Josh Perkins of Avanti Computer Systems
* James Harvey, Executive Director of CIP4 Organization
* Lesley Hepditch, Workflow Specialist at Agfa Inc., Canada
* James Lockman, Adobe Certified Print Specialist at Adobe Systems
* Peter Aston of Heidelberg Canada, Toronto
* Nick Benkovich of Kodak Graphic Communications, Vancouver
* Jason Lisi, Thomas Sprinzing, and Dr Abhay Sharma of Ryerson University, Toronto

The JDF specification is intended to enable the entire industry, including designers, publishers, printing and graphic arts companies and others to work with software and systems from different manufacturers in an integrated workflow facilitated by a common data interchange syntax.

This event is sponsored by Adobe, AGFA, Avanti, Heidelberg and Kodak, and is intended for senior management, middle management, workflow consultants and prepress professionals of small and medium-size printing companies. Each attendee will receive a free copy of the MIS Guide for Managers and the BRIDG's JDF Guide for Managers.

"Profitable printing companies will learn ways to improve profitability and to create printing workflows that are fast and reliable enough to compete with electronic and broadcast media," said Mark Wilton. "Just as important, printers who have struggled with profitability will learn about ways to turn the corner and compete more profitably."

The JDF 101 Education Event has a nominal charge of $50 for the general public and $25 for students/educators. For registration and complete program details go to http://ryersonjdf.eventbrite.com/. For questions about the program contact Abhay Sharma of Ryerson University via email at sharma@ryerson.ca.

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About CIP4

CIP4 brings together vendors, consultants, and end-users in the print communications, graphic arts industry, and associated sectors, covering a variety of equipment, software, peripherals, and processes. Members participate in focused working groups to define the Job Definition Format (JDF), PrintTalk, and other standards relevant to process automation; to study user requirements; to test product interoperability; and to develop a range of JDF software development tools. Information on CIP4, including membership details, is available from the organization's website: www.cip4.org. Or contact: Stefan Daun, Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics, +49 6151 155 575, secretariat@cip4.org. All content and ideas submitted to the CIP4 user groups and intellectual property rights subsisting therein shall become the exclusive property of CIP4.

About Ryerson University

Ryerson University has 20,000 full-time students and was granted university status in 1993. The Heidelberg School of Graphic Communications Management is housed in a new 30,000 sq.ft state-of-the-art press and prepress facility that was completed in 2003. The School offers a BTech in Graphic Communications Management and has an enrollment of 400 students at the undergraduate level, making it the only 4-year graphic arts degree program in Canada and one of the largest programs in North America. The reputation of the school ensures 100% internship placement and 100% employment of students on graduation. For more information about Ryerson University, please visit www.ryerson.ca/gcm.
About JDF
The Job Definition Format (JDF) is the industry specification designed to facilitate process automation and the integration of different applications and systems in and around the graphic arts industry. JDF also enables the integration of business management and job planning applications into the production workflow. JDF is based on the W3C's Extensible Markup Language (XML), ensuring maximum interoperability between different platforms and ready interaction with Internet systems. More information is available at www.cip4.org.